Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket successfully launches, reaches orbit despite booster setback

Blue Origin successfully launched its New Glenn rocket for the first time on Thursday, marking a significant achievement for Jeff Bezos’ space venture.

The New Glenn rocket lifted off from Florida in the early morning, reached space, and ultimately entered orbit during its long-anticipated inaugural mission, according to News.Az, citing foreign media sources.

While Blue Origin also attempted to land the rocket’s booster on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean, the booster was lost during its reentry into the atmosphere.

On Thursday, Blue Origin sent its colossal new rocket on its maiden flight, deploying a prototype satellite into orbit at an altitude far above Earth.

Named after the first American to orbit Earth, the New Glenn rocket took off from Florida, using the same launch pad that NASA used for its Mariner and Pioneer missions over 50 years ago, as reported by News.Az, citing AP.

The 320-foot (98-meter) rocket, funded heavily by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, carried an experimental platform designed to host or release satellites into their designated orbits.

For this test mission, the satellite was meant to remain inside the rocket's second stage while it orbited Earth. The mission was planned to last six hours, after which the second stage was to be placed in a stable orbit high above Earth to minimize space debris, following NASA's guidelines.